Jamie LendinoSamsung HM3700The Samsung HM3700 isn't much of a mono Bluetooth headset, but its stereo performance and all-day comfort alone is enough for a solid recommendation, particularly for the price.

The Samsung HM3700 isn't much of a mono Bluetooth headset, but its stereo performance and all-day comfort alone is enough for a solid recommendation, particularly for the price.

The Samsung HM3700 is a low-priced, convertible Bluetooth headset: Use it like a regular mono headset on one ear with its removable ear hook, or clip it to your shirt, plug in the provided stereo wired earbuds, and listen to music on the go. It's an excellent, lower-cost alternative to the Samsung Modus HM6450 ($99, 4 stars), a model with a similar design and our current Editors' Choice for stereo Bluetooth headphones.

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Design, Fit, and Pairing
The HM3700's main body is made of matte gray plastic. While it looks plain and lacks the HM6450's OLED display, the headset is actually smaller and less obtrusive, and I liked the tapered sides and rounded edges. The HM6450's blue, patterned finish and chrome trim look a little nicer, though. The HM3700's sides contain the power switch, volume buttons, and Talk button, as well as the status LED (the HM6450's LED is on the front bezel). The HM3700 supports both voice prompts and voice commands, making this a particularly easy-to-control headset.

The HM3700's bundled stereo earbuds feature rubber ear tips that sit at an angle, just like the HM6450. They sit inside the ear a bit but they don't go all the way in and form a tight seal like audiophile-grade earbuds do. They attach to the main body via the microUSB port. Samsung bundles plenty of accessories with the HM3700, including two ear hooks (one black, one translucent), a shirt clip, two alternative ear tips in different sizes, and a microUSB-to-standard-size 3.5mm headphone adapter for swapping the bundled earbuds with other headphones. There are no spare rubber ear tips for the bundled earbuds, however.

The first time you power up the HM3700, it automatically enters pairing mode; subsequent pairings require holding down the Talk button for three seconds. For this review, I paired the HS3000 with an Apple iPhone 4 ($199, 4.5 stars) and a Samsung Infuse 4G ($199.99, 3.5 stars); both worked on the first try, and I experienced no dropouts during testing with either handset.

Sound Quality, Other Features, and Conclusions
Sound quality was excellent for a stereo Bluetooth headset, and matched the higher-end HM6450 in a back-to-back comparison. The HM3700 lacks the HM6450's stereo equalizer with five presets, but that's no big loss, as the HM6450 sounds best with the EQ turned off. Both of these units come with the same set of premium earbuds, which sound better out of the box than the Samsung HS3000 ($59.99, 3 stars); vocals are clearer and sweeter, and acoustic guitars sound more natural, with distinct picking and fingering sounds on the strings. The overall sound is well tuned, with no obvious peaks or valleys in frequency response. Death Cab for Cutie's "You Are a Tourist," sounded balanced and full, with suitably atmospheric synthesizers and guitars enveloping the lead vocal as the song progressed.

The HM3700 fared less well as a mono Bluetooth headset. The HM3700 has a dual-mic design, with the primary microphone on the front edge, and the noise-canceling microphone hidden behind a tiny dot on the front panel. It sounds good for voice calls, but the noise suppression isn't nearly as effective as what you'll find on a top-end mono-only headset like the Aliph Jawbone Era ($129, 4 stars). The HS3000 supports Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, and can also pair with two Bluetooth devices simultaneously. But unlike some other headsets, you must first activate multi-point mode manually.

Bluetooth range was average; I could walk about 10 feet away from my handset before hearing audible artifacts in the music. The HM3700 is Android app-compatible, for anyone with Android phones that want to extend the headset's functionality. The LED light doubles as a battery status indicator, and changes between blue (above 80 percent), violet (between 80 percent and 20 percent), and red (below 20 percent) to reflect the amount of charge remaining. The voice prompts offer the same info, and also keep you posted as to call, connection, and pairing status. A full charge takes about two hours; battery life was average at 4 hours and 55 minutes of continuous music playback, or about an hour less than what you'd get with the HM6450.

The Samsung HM3700 is a great-sounding stereo Bluetooth headset. It's a solid buy as long as you're not expecting a top-quality mono Bluetooth headset as part of the bargain. If you are, skip the convertible idea, and head straight for one of the top mono headsets on the market, such as the Aliph Jawbone Era or the Plantronics Voyager Pro+ ($99, 4 stars). Otherwise, the Samsung Modus HM6450 adds the LED display with battery status, looks nicer, and comes with those semi-useful EQ modes; it's a more deluxe model that's technically better than the HM3700, but not necessarily by much. Finally, the Novero Tour ($79, 4 stars) is easier to transport thanks to its lack of exposed wires, although it doesn't sound quite as good as the HM3700 or the HM6450.

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About the Author

Jamie Lendino is the Editor-in-Chief of ExtremeTech.com, and has written for PCMag.com and the print magazine since 2005. Recently, Jamie ran the consumer electronics and mobile teams at PCMag, and before that, he was the Editor-in-Chief of Smart Device Central, PCMag's dedicated smartphone site, for its entire three-year run from 2006 to 2009. Pri... See Full Bio

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